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CODE OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT The Law Society of Saskatchewan Adopted by the Benchers of the Law Society of Saskatchewan on February 10, 2012 to be effective on July 1, 2012* {00221148.DOCX}*Code of Professional Conduct renumbered September 16, 2016 Contents FOREWORD ............................................................................................................... VIII PREFACE ....................................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 1 – INTERPRETATION AND DEFINITIONS ................................................. 3 CHAPTER 2 – STANDARDS OF THE LEGAL PROFESSION ....................................... 6 2.1 INTEGRITY ....................................................................................................... 7 CHAPTER 3 – RELATIONSHIP TO CLIENTS .............................................................. 12 3.1 COMPETENCE .................................................................................................... 14 Definitions ............................................................................................................... 14 Competence ........................................................................................................... 15 3.2 QUALITY OF SERVICE ....................................................................................... 21 Quality of Service .................................................................................................... 21 Limited Scope Retainers ......................................................................................... 28 Honesty and Candour ............................................................................................. 29 Language Rights ..................................................................................................... 31 When the Client is an Organization ......................................................................... 32 Encouraging Compromise or Settlement ................................................................ 33 Threatening Criminal or Regulatory Proceedings .................................................... 33 Inducement for Withdrawal of Criminal or Regulatory Proceedings ......................... 35 Dishonesty, Fraud by Client or Others .................................................................... 37 Dishonesty, Fraud when Client an Organization ..................................................... 40 Clients with Diminished Capacity ............................................................................ 41 3.3 CONFIDENTIALITY ............................................................................................. 44 Confidential Information .......................................................................................... 44 Use of Confidential Information ............................................................................... 49 Mandatory Disclosure – Future Harm/Public Safety Exception ............................... 51 Permitted Disclosure ............................................................................................... 52 {00221148.DOCX} page ii 3.4 CONFLICTS ......................................................................................................... 58 Duty to Avoid Conflicts of Interest ........................................................................... 58 Consent .................................................................................................................. 72 Short-term Summary Legal Services ...................................................................... 75 Dispute ................................................................................................................... 77 Concurrent Representation with Protection of Confidential Client Information ......... 78 Joint Retainers ........................................................................................................ 79 Acting Against Former Clients ................................................................................. 86 Acting for Borrower and Lender .............................................................................. 92 Conflicts from Transfer Between Law Firms ............................................................ 94 Application of Rule .................................................................................................. 94 Law Firm Disqualification ........................................................................................ 96 Transferring Lawyer Disqualification ..................................................................... 100 Lawyer Due Diligence for Non-lawyer Staff ........................................................... 102 Doing Business with a Client................................................................................. 103 Definitions ............................................................................................................. 103 Transactions with Clients ...................................................................................... 104 Borrowing from Clients .......................................................................................... 107 Lending to Clients ................................................................................................. 109 Guarantees by a Lawyer ....................................................................................... 110 Payment for Legal Services .................................................................................. 111 Gifts and Testamentary Instruments ..................................................................... 111 Judicial Interim Release ........................................................................................ 113 3.5 PRESERVATION OF CLIENT’S PROPERTY .................................................... 114 Preservation of Clients’ Property ........................................................................... 114 Notification of Receipt of Property ......................................................................... 116 Identifying Clients’ Property .................................................................................. 116 Accounting and Delivery ....................................................................................... 117 3.6 FEES AND DISBURSEMENTS .......................................................................... 119 Reasonable Fees and Disbursements .................................................................. 119 Contingent Fees and Contingent Fee Agreements ............................................... 123 Statement of Account............................................................................................ 125 {00221148.DOCX} page iii Joint Retainer ....................................................................................................... 125 Division of Fees and Referral Fees ....................................................................... 126 Exception for Multi-discipline Practices and Interjurisdictional Law Firms.............. 127 Payment and Appropriation of Funds .................................................................... 128 Prepaid Legal Services Plan ................................................................................. 132 3.7 WITHDRAWAL FROM REPRESENTATION ...................................................... 134 Withdrawal from Representation ........................................................................... 134 Optional Withdrawal .............................................................................................. 136 Non-payment of Fees ........................................................................................... 137 Withdrawal from Criminal Proceedings ................................................................. 138 Obligatory Withdrawal ........................................................................................... 139 Leaving a Law Firm .............................................................................................. 140 Manner of Withdrawal ........................................................................................... 142 Duty of Successor Lawyer .................................................................................... 146 CHAPTER 4 – MARKETING OF LEGAL SERVICES ................................................. 148 4.1 MAKING LEGAL SERVICES AVAILABLE .......................................................... 149 Making Legal Services Available .......................................................................... 149 Restrictions ........................................................................................................... 150 4.2 MARKETING ...................................................................................................... 152 Marketing of Professional Services ....................................................................... 152 Advertising of Fees ............................................................................................... 155 4.3 ADVERTISING NATURE OF PRACTICE ........................................................... 156 CHAPTER 5 – RELATIONSHIP TO THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE .............. 158 5.1 THE LAWYER AS ADVOCATE .......................................................................... 159 Advocacy .............................................................................................................
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